


It Will All Be Okay In the End

by Oh_Martha_My_Dear



Category: The Pacific - Fandom, hbo - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Happy Ending, M/M, Post War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-28
Updated: 2018-12-28
Packaged: 2019-09-29 02:51:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17195114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oh_Martha_My_Dear/pseuds/Oh_Martha_My_Dear
Summary: The war had ended and everyone is dreaming about the life that waits for them at home. A welcoming family, a warm meal, a bed. But Snafu is not nearly as happy as the others.





	It Will All Be Okay In the End

**Author's Note:**

> Hello again! This is my second fic ever posted and I believe it is a improvement from my first. If you are reading this thank you for taking the time to do so and being patient as I figure out how this whole writing thing works.
> 
> Much love
> 
> Marie

We couldn’t believe it. It was over. It was all over. As I sat atop a massive hill of dirt with a few others, passing a bottle of whiskey around, we all watched as people ran around in circles, danced, sang, cried. 

It was official, we would never have to creep through the dense forest of whatever godforsaken island were on, fearing for our lives and feeling as if death was always a possibility. 

No more sleepless nights laying in a foxhole, no more maggots and rice for breakfast and no more rain, good god I never want to see rain again. 

The whiskey bottle is passed back around to me and I pass it on without taking a drink, watching as the people below us rally in celebration for the end of this hell we’ve all been living.

“Strange isn’t it?” I say to Snafu, grinning as big as I possibly can. 

When I get no response I turn to look at him, finding only and empty spot where he once sat only a moment ago. I look around frantically, trying to locate him. Soon enough my eyes land on a small figure and the base of the dirt mound, clouds of smoke floating away for him every couple of seconds. 

I sigh and dust of my pants before making the trek down the hill. After stumbling and sliding a few times, my feet are on solid ground. 

Even though I’m standing right next to where he sitting I don’t think he’s noticed my arrival. He seems completely in his head, as if he’s oblivious to everything around him. 

I sit down carefully beside him, leaving a few inches of space between us. 

It’s weird to see him like this, I would have expected him to be in the middle of the celebration, running around with his shirt off, whisky bottle in one hand and cigarette in the other. 

But instead he’s sat here, holding a half smoked cigarette with a shaking hand while his unfocused eyes stare at the ground. 

“Penny for your thoughts?” I ask. 

He jumps and looks at me panicked, but his gaze softens when he recognises my face. A uncertain smile appears of his face as he takes another drag from his cigarette.

“Crazy people out there m’ I right?” He says. 

He sounds as if he’s forcing himself to sound like his usual confident persona, but even I can see straight through it. He’s cracking, breaking.

I knew better than to ask him about it though as he’s never been one to talk about his feelings. 

“Yeah, I guess” I say quietly. Turning my gaze back to the crowd of people as they set off a firework that explodes in a colourful display of green and blue.

“You glad to be goin’ back home?” He asks casually.

I smile, “Yeah, there's nothing I want more right now than to sleep in my own bed again and wake up to breakfast that isn’t cold and tasteless”. 

He laughs shortly but his expression changes quickly to one of sadness and then to one that’s just all together empty.

To my surprise, a single tear rolls it way down his cheek, shimmering in the light of the fires that are set up in multiple spots around the camp. 

“Hey, hey, you okay?” I say quietly and calmly as to not spook him. Like a wild deer that could bolt at any moment. 

Hesitantly I place a hand on his shoulder but he doesn’t respond, only lifts a hand to wipe the tear away with his palm.

“Y’know, before I left, my Mama told me that if I walked out the door I could never come back” He says, taking a long drag from his cigarette before flicking it into the dirt. “I thought she was exaggeratin’ at first, but I guess that all the letters she never responded to are confirmation enough that she was serious” he laughs shortly even though another tear makes it way down his face. 

A heavy silence falls over us, neither of us knowing what to say. 

“God Snaf, I’m so sorry” I say, hoping it was enough. He doesn’t respond, just stares at the ground again. 

Snafu was usually the type to be staring you down, making you feel ten times smaller than you actually were. He was bull and you were the mouse. He was a hurricane and you where the house. He knew how to make his personality large enough so that it made him seem bigger than 5’9. 

But now he looks light a frightened child. Small and fragile, like the wind could blow and shatter him completely. 

Suddenly he sighs, drying his face with his palms again. “ Y’know, I have two baby sisters at home” he says quietly, like he’s talking to himself as well as me. “One is five and a half and the other is nine, about to turn ten in week. I promised her before I left that I would be back for her tenth birthday” now his voice trembling, bottom lip quivering as he tries to hold together the house of cards that he had become.

“I guess that’s a promise I couldn’t keep”.

I lean over, carefully placing my arm over his shoulder. Apparently that’s all it took to make that house tumble completely. 

As soon as my arm was settled over his shoulders, his breathing hitched and he turned his head into my chest with a howling sob that was drowned out by the cheering of the crowd. I bring my other hand to the back of his head, petting it comfortingly.

“It’s okay Shelton” I say, deciding that Snafu was a bit to harsh for the time being. Snafu, a fuck up, I’m sure that’s how he feels right now.

“What am I going to do Sledge?” He asks, voice rough and thick from crying. I ask myself the same question, what is he going to do? 

He doesn’t have a family come home to, a house to live in, and I’m sure as hell he doesn’t have a job waiting for him at home. Hes fucked, totally fucked. 

“We’ll figure this out. It’ll all be okay” I say it as if I’m trying to convince myself just as much as I’m trying to convince him. Telling myself that I can fix it. 

I’ve always been able to fix it, make it right, whenever someone needed help or a few dollars to help em’ get by, I was the one to do it. No wonder I feel obligated to help him. Hell, he saved my life on more than one occasion. Without him, my family wouldn’t have a son, wouldn’t have a soldier to welcome home from the war.

“Hey, I have an idea” I say suddenly, watching as Snafu sits up to look me in the eyes. Good god he looks horrible. His eyes are bloodshot and tired, he looks broken. I’ve never seen him like this. 

“Care to share this brilliant idea of yours?” He says gesturing to the air. I smirk slightly. Even at the worst of times he never misses a chance to make a snarky comment.

“My parents have a spare room. I’m sure it would be no trouble for them to let you stay for a while until you get on your feet”. 

He looks down and shakes his head slowly. “I couldn’t, I’m not one for charity” he says solemnly. 

“This ain’t no charity, I’m insisting” I say matter of factly, hitting the ground with my fist for emphasis. 

His eyes meet mine as he thinks, playing with the laces on his shoes. “You ain’t got a say in this Shelton, your coming with me, ain’t no way around it”. 

He sits there for a moment longer, eyes still fixed on me. Then suddenly, a grin makes its way to his face. A full, all teeth smile that I’ve only seen on him once before when I made a joke while we were marching.

“Well I guess I ain’t got much of a choice then, Sledgehamma” he says laughing slightly. 

I smile and put an arm around his shoulder as a halfway hug. We sit there for a few more moments in comfortable silence, lighting up another cigarette and passing it back and forth. 

Have I gone crazy? Inviting the most psychotic, foul mouthed, backwoods man I know to come stay in my parents home without their permission? 

Probably, but who isn’t crazy these days.

“You sure your folks will be fine with it?” He asks, passing the cigarette back to me, allowing the smoke to roll from his lips in waves. 

My eyes linger on his mouth for a second too long as when I look back up he’s staring at me with the same intensity. 

I cough to break the silence, taking the stick from his hand. 

“I’m sure. And if they aren’t, they can get over it” I respond, taking a long drag and coughing out clouds of smoke. 

Snafu laughs. “You are something Sledge” he says with a tone that can almost be called amusement.

I turn back to him, watching as eyes search my face, for what? I don’t know but I can’t but feel exposed as they line up with my own in a way that made me feel as if he’s climbing his way it to my mind and having a look around.

“Never met anyone quite like you” He says so quietly that it’s almost a whisper. That smirk that was plastered on his face has disappeared, his lips just slightly open as he maintains eye contact with me.

“I could say the same about you” I reply, casting my gaze to his mouth quickly before returning to his eyes, treading carefully to insure that I am not misreading any messages. 

Suddenly I am pushed back against the mound of dirt with Snafu close to being in my lap. His lips graze mine in a way that’s not quite a kiss, like he’s testing the waters, making sure I’m okay. 

His breathing is heavy as he hangs over me, eyes locked with mine and a hand tangled in my hair.

“Can I?” He asks breathily. 

I can no nothing but nod my head frantically. He doesn’t need to be told twice as a lunges forward to catch my lips in a slow kiss. His hand massages the back of my head lightly as he settles his seat in my lap. 

He doesn’t try anything special, just you classic, first date kiss but god is it amazing. Just to have him this close to me sends electricity through my veins, making my brain feel overstimulated and my breath come out in short gasps.

Soon we break apart breathless. He still hangs above me, eyes dark, lips shiny. After a moment of silence, we both laugh at the insanity of the situation. 

He smiles that perfect smile and his eyes scrunch up, making him look so young as his usual stone cold expression ages him. 

“God we’re crazy” he says still laughing.

“Yeah” I agree, breathless. 

Another firework goes off above our heads, lighting up the world around us. 

“This is going to be a lot harder to explain to my parents than I thought it was going to be”


End file.
